Spiritual Entropy

By Eric Smith

Written October 8, 2020

“And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness. That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day”

(D&C 50:23-24)

In the science of Physics there is a fascinating principle that deals with the physical world but also spills over into the spiritual realm. My friend Greg helped me see this one day when I was talking about the way all things in our world have a tendency to decay. That is when I was first exposed to the second law of thermodynamics. This law is centered upon the idea of entropy. Just as every kingdom is governed by law, this law is one that governs the Telestial world in which we live. My intent is to explain entropy in simple terms, and hopefully demonstrate that it has been and will continue to be a driving force in this world until it transitions to Terrestrial conditions – but also to show that our divine creator has provided ways for us to escape the effects of this natural law, if we will accept heaven’s help.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics has a concept known as a closed system. That means only components within a system are contributing forces, and nothing from outside that system can impact it. A simple demonstration of this principle would be to imagine a stack of Jenga blocks, and that moment when someone pulls out a certain block and the stack falls over. In that moment, entropy has taken place, and no known force in our current world, or closed system, can undo that event. Only forces from outside of that system can undo it. If this were to happen, we would consider it to be a miracle, or divine intervention.

Simply put, entropy is the idea that things degrade or fall into a state of disorder over time, and by extension, cannot be put back into their original state without assistance from an outside force. The effects of entropy can be found everywhere we look.

Consider the life of a tree. It is planted from a seed. It grows. It dies. It decays and returns to the earth as entropy plays out. While this is a perfect cycle, no amount of force upon the decaying tree from within its natural state, or closed system, can reverse that natural process and restore it to the living creation it once was without assistance from an outside force.

Another useful example in understanding entropy is the classic telephone game, in which a verbal statement is given to a listener, who then repeats the statement as best as they are able to the next listener, and so on until the last person repeats the statement given to them. What ultimately comes from their mouth is some semblance of the original thought, but with changes and distortions. Entropy took place.

The Savior Himself gave a statement during His mortal ministry which supports the idea of a continually decaying world, when He said: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal”. Moths, rust, and thieves are in themselves contributors of entropy in this Telestial state. How comforting to consider then, a world where entropy does not exist in the Lord’s next remark: “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

The evidence of entropy in the natural world is endless. Automobiles created by men, do not improve over time, but they rust, crack, misshape, and ultimately degrade into something that is useless. The food we grow, the clothing we wear, and even the ideologies of men – each will ultimately fall into a state of disarray and chaos without help from an outside source.

Even our DNA is in a continual state of entropy. From the time we are born, we begin the process of dying. Mutations occur which tend to cause defects and degradation of genes. Our collective human DNA has needed outside influence from time to time in order to preserve and restore its entropic effects to its higher state when the Elohim breathed the breath of life into Adams’ nostrils and made him a living soul.

Other divine contributions of DNA are referenced in the book of Genesis chapter 6. The best known recorded outside source and contribution of DNA to the world occurred at what is oftentimes referred to as the Immaculate Conception. Through that event, divine DNA was infused into the declining DNA of mortals, following Christ’s bloodline to modern times. While not widely known, other events have occurred which have divinely altered human DNA, thus reversing entropic effects in certain bloodlines. These will become self-evident in years to come as technology and access to true history improves.

Governments and civilizations, modern and historic, stand like billboards of entropic decay, telling their stories of brave founders who broke free from tyranny, established a new nation built on virtuous principles, and over time ended up in states of entropic death and destruction.

The Mulekites from the Book of Mormon are one such example. Like Lehi, these descendants of King Zedekiah fled Jerusalem to the America’s. But unlike Lehi, they brought no record with them. The author points out that after a short time the Mulekites became an illiterate and apostate people (Omni 1:17). In the absence of scripture or at least a written language, the effects of entropy on a civilization were almost immediate, unlike the literate Nephite civilization which took nearly 1,000 years to reach full entropy through their destructions. Through this narrative we see that the Lord provides a way to reverse entropy through sending enlightenment to His servants, and the records they keep, but His ways are only effective if they are followed.

The story of the Jaredites contained in the Book of Ether within the Book of Mormon is an entropic display of divine origins in a society, followed by the degrading choices of men over thousands of years and a completely obliterated civilization. The Hebrews under the Law of Moses until their obvious state of apostasy during the time of Christ is another case. The Nephites story is the same: divine origins and manifestations as a small family makes a miraculous journey across the ocean, begins a new life and society built upon pure principles, followed by declining morals, decisions, and an ultimate annihilation of their civilization and their once divine religion. 

Each of those societies were once enlightened, and carried the holy priesthood of God, conducted ordinances of salvation, and were led by continuing revelation in the divinely prescribed manner. Each society sank into entropic destruction.

The United States of America is also in a cycle of entropic decline. Could it be argued that we are more of an open system relying on Heaven’s help now than during the days of its establishment? What began as an unmistakable outpouring of divine assistance, has spiraled downward in only a couple hundred years. But it has not been without divine aid. The Lord has provided the Restoration through Joseph Smith, and given additional scripture, and He has continued to send other messengers of warning as He has always done. Is the system closed, or are we closed to the open system?

I see no reason why religion should have any other cycle in this natural state of living we are accustomed to. If you were to examine any religion today, and compare that religion to the day it was created, founded, or restored, based on the principle of entropy in the second law of thermodynamics, the two states of the same religion would not be the same, for the latter will always be in a state of decay compared to the former.

Trace any religion back to its origin and you will find a saint, sage, or divine being who revealed or discovered a pure truth, or perhaps many truths which become their theology. Let that theology whose origin was from outside the closed system pass through generations of men within the closed system, and it will as surely as the earth orbits the sun, devolve from its pure and original state into something less orderly. Only a theology that operates in a truly open system can avoid entropy.

One clear example of such an open system is the people of the City of Enoch. We learn from the book of Moses, that Enoch “saw the Lord; and he stood before [his] face, and he talked with [him] even as a man talketh one with another, face to face” (Moses 7:4). The ultimate translation of Enoch and his city are a case of a people who completely overcame the expected condition of entropy. Their direct connection to heaven helped them defy the law of this Telestial state. Indeed, they overcame entropy.

Can governments improve from their divinely inspired beginnings, rather than fall into states of ruin? Can humans improve their circumstances rather than devolve into disease and destruction? Can we yet find solutions to insufficient and costly energy, debilitating and lethal medical conditions? Can clean and renewing technology be discovered which seem to defy the downward cycle of entropy which encompasses this sphere?

Yes! When we allow ourselves to live in accordance with the conditions, laws, and principles from outside our closed system of Telestial life as we know it, we will live in a world devoid of entropy. This is ascension. We are the ones who must do it, or we will surely destroy ourselves. We are told repeatedly in scripture to seek the face of the Lord, which seems to be another way of saying, “make your world an open system where heaven is able to help you ascend”.  

I testify that Jesus Christ is the solution to this downward entropic spiral. He is the way. He can lift us individually and collectively out of this low prison in which we are conditioned into a state more beautiful and perfect than we can imagine. This is not a mere dream or possibility. It is prophesied. It will be you and me, and the very earth we stand upon, if we live in accordance with His higher laws. Until we do so, no one, no state, no church, and no theology but Christ’s will endure the changes coming to this world of entropy.